The Happy Hour Virus is the creation of TDA_Boulder, a Colorado ad firm, and it works via the firm's website. Click on one of three problems, depending on your mood (and whether you have a Mac or PC): kernel panic, broken monitor, or blue screen of death. Your browser window will launch in full-screen mode, making it appear like your entire computer has been compromised. All you need to do is press “esc” to revert your computer back to normal.

Here’s their mission statement:

“It’s a philosophy of TDA_Boulder that we are all better employees if we achieve something called a work-life balance. However, pursuing that goal is not always an easy task in today's corporate culture. Please use the Happy Hour Virus to leave work early and enjoy the company of friends, family or co-workers. We are aware that this might jeopardize your productivity the following day, but we are willing to take that risk on your behalf.”

That’s very nice of TDA_Boulder, which is using this cute little virus as a recruiting tool for folks who possibly want to work for them. This also assumes that your workplace doesn’t have an IT guy who’d catch on after a few blue screens of death, or respond to your help desk request by the time you emitted a faux frustrated sigh, texted your friends, and slammed down three blue raspberry maragritas. Cheers to that.

Most people have a basic understanding of computers but some of the intricacies are often lost, especially when you're in a panic over a virus. At that point, you aren't really interested in knowing how or why it's taken hold of your computer—you just want to get rid of it.